Pop-Culturalist.com

Adam Fox is an emerging storyteller who has quickly become one to watch. He’s an actor, director, writer, and model who can currently be seen in OUTtv’s new original series, Sugar Highs.

The dramedy follows a group of twentysomethings who would rather party than work menial jobs, so they set out to find themselves sugar daddies to pay the bills. But with that comes all kinds of complications. Adam shines as the series’ lead Bud who is the brains behind the operation who find himself in situations both sticky and sweet.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Adam about his thriving career, Sugar Highs Season 1, his character’s yearning for connection, and what’s ahead.

PC: How did you discover your passion for the arts and storytelling?
Adam: It was actually when I took my first acting class. I was doing modeling before I did acting. I know that sounds like the cringe model-actor story, but I thought I would try an acting class, just to see if I liked it. That was at Railtown Actors Studio in Vancouver where I’m from. It was really intense. I’ll say that experiencing that intensity while acting was so much harder than I thought it was. That was a challenge that made me want to do it.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Adam: The biggest influence on my career? I’m tempted to say me. But it’s probably my mom. My mom has had a really unique and interesting life that’s been in so many different directions. That gave me the confidence to keep going forward in what I wanted to do. In terms of actors, I really love actors like Eddie Redmayne. As somebody who is between a lead and a character actor—both at the same time—I like actors like him because he plays a different character each time, but there are these throughlines of charm in all of them that I really love.

PC: In addition to being an actor, you’re also a writer, director, and producer. How have your experiences behind the camera impacted the way that you approach your work on screen and vice versa?
Adam: It’s been pretty cool. I’ve done two projects where I’ve written, directed, and been in front of the camera at the same time. Trying to achieve what I want from the actors has brought me some epiphanies about what acting is and how to work with directors and that sort of thing. You gain a better understanding of why a director might get frustrated at times and you learn what it’s like to be on the other side when you’re not really understanding a note—you see how it feels. It’s helped me be more flexible on both sides. If the actor’s not getting my note, I’ll try something else. Similarly, I’m more flexible and more present and listening actively and dropping what I thought the scene was going to be and going with what the director wants.

PC: Tell us about Sugar Highs, your character, and what drew you to this project.
Adam: Sugar Highs is about three roommates who are struggling financially and decide to try to get sugar daddies and mommies. My character is Bud. It’s actually his idea. It’s a comedy of errors where he goes on a date with his dance school crush in his beautiful apartment and he says, “How do you afford this place?” The guy says, ” My daddy,” which he assumes is his sugar daddy. You’ll see what that actually is. But he gets on this trajectory of becoming a sugar baby and getting his roommates to be sugar babies as well. He plays the pimp to them all, managing their profiles, taking their pictures, doing all that, and even setting up their dates. He’s the HBIC. The show has a lot of heart and it’s fun.

I’ve always found this phenomenon really interesting. It’s different depending on what community you’re in or what sex or gender you are. I do think it’s a different story when it comes to men identifying as sugar babies versus women identifying as sugar babies. It’s an interesting story, and it’s very character-focused. It’s not just a show about sugar babies and daddies. We’re going to get into why these guys are all doing what they’re doing and why the sugar daddies are in their positions. Maybe the older man wasn’t out in his younger age and he could never have love with a man. Here’s his chance at 70 to experience some form of intimacy.

PC: Like you were saying earlier, the show focuses on these three roommates, and there’s such great chemistry that comes off the screen between all of you. How did you all build that bond?
Adam: Not to toot my own horn, but we were all thrown into it. I felt it was important that we all bonded a bit. I didn’t have a contact list for anybody, but I knew that Joey [Beni] who plays Tab was in the hotel room next to me. So I started out by putting a note under his door saying, “We should connect.” Then we connected, and then I asked Sam [Davison] who plays Mickey for his contact. We hung out a couple of times. We’re all different in real life, but I think it actually translated really well on screen. It’s because they are friends and a chosen family, but there’s also this roommate element as well. These guys met each other through roommate ads. What’s nice in the second season, both on and offscreen is that we instantly felt like family. Sam is quite young. It’s interesting to see him grow up a little bit after a year. He’s like a little brother to me.

PC: This series does a beautiful job balancing comedy and drama. For you as a storyteller, is one more challenging than the other?
Adam: It’s interesting when it’s a mix of the two genres. When you’re preparing a comedy scene, you prepare it pretty thoroughly and it’s quite measured and calculated. For a drama scene, you probably go in a bit looser. You’re taking your time. So I think the challenge can be on a show like this where it does go back and forth between the two. It’s about letting go of the idea of what you think a scene might be. There are scenes I’d identify as, “Okay, this is a funny scene. Have fun with it.” Then we do it, and it’s like, “Oh wait. It’s actually supposed to be a more serious sad scene” or whatever. Or the other way around: you prepare for a dramatic scene and you’re like, “No, no. This is comedic.” The biggest challenge would be when it isn’t what you expected, but again, you find a way to drop whatever you thought it was going to be and be present in the moment with the other actors, the environment, and whatever the director wants.

PC: Speaking of that preparation, there’s this intense confrontation between your character and his mother at the dining room table. For you as an actor, how did you create the space for yourself to dive into that moment?
Adam: That was interesting to play. As much as I am really close with my parents, I think that everybody has had a moment—maybe not for the same reason—but I think we’ve all had a moment where our parents have disapproved of something that we’ve done. What resonated the most for me with that scene was my character really thinking that this is a positive thing for him, regardless of what society thinks. He thinks being a sugar baby helps him advance his life further and that large sums of money can help him focus on dance and what he really wants to do. His mom does not approve of it for the same reason society wouldn’t approve of it. That’s what resonated for me and how I dropped into that scene. It was the discord between the two.

My parents in real life are not the most interventional. Of course, they’ve had interventions with me about various things over the years. I’m not perfect. I really loved the actors who play Fern, my mom, and Larry, my stepdad. They’re solid actors and easy to connect with.

PC: The show tackles so many universal themes. Was there one in particular that hit home for you in Season 1 or 2?
Adam: I would say that the biggest thing in terms of themes that resonated with me was the aspect of loneliness. As much as Bud is super confident, fun, and the life of the party, there’s a loneliness there. The loneliness is a throughline for both the sugar babies and daddies. They all long for connection. With Bud, it shows even more in Season 2, but there’s this desperation for connection, whether it’s from his roommates, these daddies, or male attention in general. There’s this really deep, intense need to be loved. We all have that to some extent, but I think that some of us have that impulse a bit more than others. I would say that I am somebody that also longs for connection and can easily feel lonely.

PC: We know that Season 2 is on its way. Is there anything you can tease about what’s ahead for Bud and the rest of his roommates?
Adam: Bud is more at the center of things in the second season. I don’t want to give too much away about the current season, but he ends in a different place from where he started. That’s his starting point in Season 2. In the words of the director, “Bud is even more brazen in the second season.” It does feel like character-wise between the two seasons he becomes more aggressive. He’s not afraid to yell at his roommates and demand things from them. There’s some fun. There’s a fun enemy. There’s a mix of old and new daddies. There’s a lot of trying and failing.

PC: This is such an exciting time in your career. As you look ahead to the next five to ten years, is there a dream role or story that you’d love to bring to life, either as an actor, producer, writer, or director?
Adam: I’m currently working on something that I wrote and found a showrunner for. That’s really exciting. It’s like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants meets Spice World meets RuPaul’s Drag Race. It’s a lot of fun. In terms of roles of my own, I would love to be in a romantic movie or rom-com. In real life, love is not as idealistic as it is in the movies. I think it would be really lovely to live out the romance that you see on TV or in movies.

To keep up with Adam, follow him on Instagram. Watch Sugar Highs on OUTtv today!

Photo Credit: Marie-Louise